China Southern
China Southern Airlines has received the first of 20 deliveries of its A350-900, becoming the newest operator of this long-range, wide-body aircraft. The Guangzhou-based carrier operates an Airbus fleet of 335 aircraft, including 282 A320 Family aircraft, 48 A330 Family aircraft and 5 A380 aircraft.
China Southern's A350-900 aircraft features a modern and comfortable three-class cabin layout of 314 seats, of which 28 are in business class, 24 in premium economy and 262 in economy. The airline will initially operate the new aircraft on its domestic routes from Guangzhou to Shanghai and Beijing, followed by flights to international destinations.
At the end of May 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 893 firm orders from 51 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful wide-body aircraft ever.
Etihad Airways
An Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner touched down in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday, completing its inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The deployment of the 787-9 to Chengdu is part of the airline's ongoing plan to operate all 28 weekly services to China's four main gateways — Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hong Kong — with the next-generation Dreamliner aircraft. The airline has already upgraded its daily service from Abu Dhabi to Beijing to the 787-10 Dreamliner, and its daily service from Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong to the 787-9. It has also been announced that the daily service from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai will be upgraded from the 787-9 to the larger 787-10, effective July 1.
The 787-9 now servicing Chengdu features Etihad Airways' next-generation business and economy class seats. It will operate with 299 seats — 28 in business class and 271 in economy class, representing a 27 percent increase in business class capacity to Chengdu, or a 14 percent capacity increase across all cabins. The upgrading of aircraft will also see an increase in lower deck-hold cargo capacity to carry an additional four tons.
Korean AirKorean Air said on Thursday that it will launch three routes in cities in China during the second half of this year.
The new China routes for Korean Air will be Incheon to Nanjing, Zhangjiajie, and Hangzhou. Korean Air has been granted traffic rights to these routes following successful Korea-China aviation talks back in March of 2019.
Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, one of the seven historical capitals of China, holds a rich cultural heritage of old dynasties. Zhangjiajie is well known to travelers as the perfect city for trekking in Central China's Hunan Province. Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, a former home to Korean Provisional Government, was praised by the Italian explorer Marco Polo as "the most beautiful city in the world."
Hainan Airlines Hainan Airlines made its first flight from Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to Osaka on Monday; it is the second direct flight from Xi'an to Japan, after Xi'an to Tokyo earlier this year.
Hainan Airlines also said it will open a direct flight from Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, to Chicago on September 16. It is a latest route starting from Chengdu, after flights to Los Angeles and New York previously.
